Aussie selection rewards Tauranga table tennis champ

He had to shift to get his name in lights and now Tauranga's Matt Hetherington is backing a tilt at Australia's best to set him on the path to Commonwealth Games selection.
Hetherington, 21, is in the 11-strong New Zealand team competing at the Australian Open Championships in Hobart. He is the first born-and-bred member of the Otumoetai (recently renamed Table Tennis Tauranga) club to gain New Zealand selection, with his beginnings in the sport going back 13 years to when he would walk to the Matua hall to play.
"There would be family club night on Fridays and my whole family would play. I'm not sure I enjoyed it much back then but it quickly grew on me the more I played and it wasn't long before I really got into it.
"At the moment I get withdrawal if I don't play for maybe three to four days - I just can't get enough of it. It's the speed and intensity I like the most, it's such a versatile game."
Hobart is Hetherington's overseas debut for New Zealand, where the national men's team take on Aussie state sides in a teams event before individual competition. "The Aussies have a higher ability to execute in matches than us and a much higher level of top players in the sport. The problem we have in New Zealand is that good players come from overseas and play one national champs before realising that the little money in table tennis is not in playing but in coaching."
Studying for a Bachelor of Business Analysis with an economics major at Waikato University, where he's also the president of the Waikato Table Tennis Association, Hetherington's best chance of success is in the under-21 grade and doubles.
"As a left-hander I have an advantage in pairings and also have a good track record for doubles in New Zealand, winning 14 doubles titles last year including the North Island B grade men's and under-21 champs [with doubles partner and flatmate James Harter]."
It's been a big year for Table Tennis Tauranga, which uses Matua hall and the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre as venues.
In February, an 11-strong team competed at the annual New Zealand Masters Games in Wanganui, winning 14 table tennis medals (and 29 medals in all sports).
Recently, four members of the club competed successfully at the national marae championships in Manurewa.
In August, the club is making a week-long table tennis tour of the North Island, playing in regional or club events at Palmerston North, Wanganui, New Plymouth and Hamilton. The tour, with 20 club members taking part, is believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand table tennis.
Hetherington would love to see the sport thrive in the city, which he said lagged behind Waikato in development opportunities.
"Tauranga had potential when I first started but the legs fell out from underneath it and it needs a strong focus on reviving the sport. I spent four years with minimal competition at my club and no exposure to the kind of play I needed to succeed at a top level.
"Waikato has a strong high performance squad which trains four times a week and great coaches and players who have helped me develop my game since moving here in 2009. Getting recognised out of Tauranga as a junior was difficult - it's hard to make a case to selectors when you aren't actively training or playing under a coach."